THE DEATH OF A SALESMAN

BY – ARTHUR MILLER
-- February10, 1949

SUBMITTED TO –Sakshi mam SUBMITTED BY – SHIWANGI

--220222400044
 DEATH OF A SALES MAN, MILLERS most famous work
addresses the painfull conflict within one family, but it
also tackels larger issues regarding American national
values. The play examine the cost of blind faith in the
American Dream that success and status are rights,
not earned privilengs.
 The play centre on WILLY LOMAN, an aging salesman
who is beginning to lose his grip on reality. Willy places
great emphasis on his supposed native charm and
ability to make friends.
 AMERICAN DREAM is a play viewed by many as a
scathing attack on the AMERICAN DREAM of achiving
wealth and success without regards for principle or
moral.
 The AMERICAN DREAM is a belief that in the united
states of America, hardwork and deterimination can
lead to a better life, usually through the earning of
money. These were values held by many early
European settlers and have been passed on to the
newer generations.
MILLER’S MODERN TRAGEDY
 The hero is a COMMON MAN
 The hero struggles against society
 The hero meets his downfall
 The downfall is aresult of an incongruity
between his own perception of the world
and reality.
 The hero achives a kind of redemption in
his downfall.
The common man as a TRAGIC
A FEW KEY TRAITS OF A TRAGIC HERO
HERO  usually evokes sympathy
 has a weakness, usually pride
 Something has gone awry in his life
 Usually faced with a very serious decision
he must make
 Must understand his mistake
 Likely doomed from the start
TRAGIC FLAW IN A TRAGIC HERO
A flaw in character that brings about the
downfall of the hero of tragedy ;
excessive pride financial greed

WILLY’S TRAGIC FLAW IS IN FAILING TO

QUESTION WETHER THE DREAM IS VALID ??
 An air of the dream clings to the
place, a dream rising out of
reality…..
On one hand,ambition can motivate us to get out of bed in the morning and follow our dreams. On the
other hand, ambition can keep us from recognizing our own limits,trapping us in the delusional grandeur of
imagined achievements.
FOR WILLY LOMAN, ambition is the ultimate foe—the darth vader to hid luke skywalker, the Voldemort to
his harry potter, the cruella to his pongo.

THE DEATH OF A SALMAN

is a trgedy about the differences between the LOMANS family’s dreams and the reality of
thiers lives. The play is scathing critique of the American dream and of the competitive, materialistic
American society of the late 1940’s. the storyline features WILLY LOMAN, an average guy who attempts to
hide his averageness and failures behind increasingly delusional hallcinations as he strives to be a
“SUCCESS”.
Insecurities Of The Miller’s Common
Man (WILLY LOMAN)
WILLY LOMAN is an insecure, self deluded
traveling salesman. Willy believes
wholeheartedly in the American Dream of
easy success and wealth, but he never
achives it. Nor do his son fulfil his hope that
they will succeed where he has failed. When
Willy’s illusion begin to fail under the pressing
realities of his life, his mental health begains
to unravel. The overwhelming tensions
caused by the societal imperatives that drive
Willly, form the essential conflict of
DEATH OF THE SALESMAN.
THANK YOU